Hong Kong authorities yesterday held former ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales at the airport for hours for “immigration reason” and sent her back to Manila, in what her supporters believed was in retaliation for her suing Chinese President Xi Jinping before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for environmental crimes in the South China Sea.

The trade war between the United States and China is raising the possibility that tensions could extend beyond trade and affect other areas of contention between them including the South China Sea, analysts here warned.